


interfering friends.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: captured moments. [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Friendship, One Shot Collection, Professor Ben Solo, Short One Shot, Waiters & Waitresses, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22307941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: Rose sat there until it hit her, and then she grinned.  “You've got a thing for Ben.”Rey nodded.  “He's just so unbelievably gorgeous and he's always so nice to me, and I just...I can't help it.  I know that it's ridiculous because he's probably got a wife at home, but still.”Rose laughed.  “Oh honey, Ben's not married.  He doesn't have a girlfriend either.”or:  The café is closed and Rey's asking some questions about Ben.  When Ben shows up to talk to Poe, their friends conspire to get them to talk to each other alone.
Relationships: Rey & Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: captured moments. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602691
Comments: 12
Kudos: 80





	interfering friends.

**Author's Note:**

> and here we are with part five.
> 
> And as always, if you like what you've read here, please let me know via a comment or a kudos or a bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. Enjoy!

It was just past close in the café, so Rey was sitting at a table with Rose, poking around at the fries that were on her plate. “Rose, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Rose said, stealing a fry.

Rey took a deep breath. “Do you know Ben very well? It seems like he comes in a lot.”

“Ben Solo? Oh yeah, he definitely comes in a lot. Hardly ever on the weekends, but he's usually here at least two nights a week for dinner and occasionally breakfast on Wednesdays. He's a great guy. Why?”

Rey took another deep breath. “He seems to always be alone.”

“Yeah, he usually is unless he's in here with a member of his family. I've never seen him in here with anyone else besides Poe's roommate Snap. They've all been friends since college.” Rose studied Rey for a moment. “Why?”

Rey sighed heavily and reached for a fry, dipping it in ketchup. “It's silly.”

Rose sat there until it hit her, and then she grinned. “You've got a thing for Ben.”

Rey nodded. “He's just so unbelievably gorgeous and he's always so nice to me, and I just...I can't help it. I know that it's ridiculous because he's probably got a wife at home, but still.”

Rose laughed. “Oh honey, Ben's not married. He doesn't have a girlfriend either.”

Rey looked up at her. “He's not? He doesn't?”

“You should listen to Poe when he talks about Ben,” Rose said. “I'm sure you've probably just been busy at those moments since you started working here, but yeah, Ben's as single as you can get. I've never known him to have a girlfriend. Poe keeps saying that he'd settle for Ben just going on a date at this point.”

Rey ate a couple of fries before sighing again. “There's no way he'd ever be interested in me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Rose asked. “You're amazing. Of course he would be.”

“I don't think so. Besides, he's probably too old for me. I don't even know how old he is.”

“Ben is thirty-five,” Poe said, pulling out a chair and scaring them both. “Sorry, but I heard what you were talking about and had to come to interject. And he would totally be interested in you.”

Rey looked over at her boss and shook her head. “Even if he was, my grandfather would never go for me dating someone that much older than me.”

“I thought you told your grandfather to fuck off and that's why he cut off your financial support,” Rose said.

“I did and he did, but I still feel like my father would want me to have his approval on things,” Rey said quietly. “And I don't want to disappoint my father.”

Poe reached out and put his hand over Rey's. “Listen to me, okay? Your father wouldn't be disappointed in you if you don't have that asshole's approval.”

“I appreciate you saying that, Poe, but I think I'd know better than you would,” Rey said, pulling her hand away.

“You're probably right about that,” Poe agreed, “but there's still the fact of the matter that your father isn't here to tell you that he's disappointed in you, so you'd never really know. But given everything you've said about your grandfather, I wouldn't give a fuck what he thinks.”

“He could make Ben's life a living hell if he found out about this,” Rey pointed out. “He is the chancellor of the university after all.”

“I suppose that's true,” Rose said, thinking about it. “But I also think that you'd never know if he'd approve unless it happened. He might really like Ben.”

“None of this matters,” Rey said, reaching for another fry. “Ben would never be interested in me.”

“So what do you call all the flirting he does with you when he's in here then?” Poe asked, laughing. “Trust me, he's interested in you. He's just too scared to do something about it.”

They all looked over at the door when it opened, and Poe was about to call out that they were closed when Ben walked in. “Ben!”

“Snap told me you were here, so I hope you don't mind,” Ben said, and Poe stood up. 

“Of course not,” Poe said, glancing back at the two girls. “I'll be right back.”

Poe walked over to Ben and Rey tore her eyes away from him, taking a deep breath. “I sincerely hope Poe isn't going to go tell Ben that I'm into him.”

“I don't think Poe would do that, but he's definitely going to keep encouraging you to ask him out. That's for sure,” Rose said, smiling at her. “And I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with you asking Ben out. Besides, Poe's right about your grandfather. You shouldn't care.”

“I know I shouldn't, but I have to,” Rey said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Rey, you're twenty-five-years-old. You don't have to do exactly what he wants you to do.”

“I know I don't. Why do you think I'm waiting tables instead of working at the university?”

“He offered you a job at the university?” Rose asked, surprised. “And you turned it down?”

“He wanted me to be his assistant, and there's no way in fucking hell I'm doing that,” Rey said seriously. “I'd be making a lot more money than I am here, but I'd be miserable as fuck and I'd have to put up with him every day. That's not happening.”

“His assistant?”

“He said it's the only job there that I'd ever be qualified for since I studied such a worthless degree. I'm sure that the faculty in that department would be pleased to hear him refer to an art history degree as such.”

Rose just shook her head. “If you had personal reasons for doing that degree, then that's great. And I don't think that any degree is worthless. I'd kill to have one.”

“Yeah, well, an art history degree is never going to get me a job, so it kind of is worthless,” Rey said. “But I hear what you're saying. Ben said something similar to me.”

“You should listen to him. Ben takes education very seriously.”

“I gathered that. He keeps talking to me about books that I've never read that he thinks I should. I'm going to end up reading them all eventually, but books are expensive and the money he gave me will only stretch so far.”

Rose gave her a confused look. “Money he gave you?”

Rey sighed. “I shouldn't have said that.”

“But you did say it so now you're explaining what you meant.”

“When Ben gave me his copy of _Macbeth_ , he put a hundred dollars in it for me to buy books with.”

Rose stared at her in shock. “What?”

“I know, it's ridiculous.”

“I think Poe's right,” Rose said after a moment. “I think Ben is interested in you. He's never done anything like that for anyone else that's worked here before.”

“I don't know about that.”

Rose just shook her head. “So, what did you buy with the money?”

“I bought _A Tale of Two Cities_ on Ben's recommendation, and I'm understanding that a fuckload more than I understood _Macbeth_. We've been having some good discussions about where I'm at in the book and what I'm thinking of it so far. It's been nice.”

“And you don't think that means he's interested in you?”

“I think that it means that he's being polite since I told him that I didn't get into his class while I was a student,” Rey said firmly. “That's it.”

“Ben will talk literature with anyone, Rey. He does not give those people a hundred dollars to go buy some for themselves.”

Rey sighed heavily. “He's just not interested, okay?”

“Not okay,” Rose said seriously. “And I really do think Poe's right. I think he is definitely interested in you.”

“Who is interested in you?” came Finn's voice and he sat down. “What are you talking about?”

“We are talking about how Ben is clearly interested in Rey,” Rose said before Rey could say anything. “She doesn't believe it.”

“Ben Solo?” When Rey nodded, Finn continued. “Well, I can see how you would think that. I mean, I haven't known Ben to be interested in a girl the entire time that I've known him. Poe swears that he's had a girlfriend in the past though, so I didn't really think all that much about it. What does Poe think about this?”

“Poe thinks that he is interested in her,” Rose said. “And Rey won't believe it.”

“Mind if we join you?” Poe said, and Rey looked over at him and Ben with a smile. 

“Of course not.”

Ben took the seat next to Rey's and looked over at her. “How is the book?”

“Still in the same place I was last time I talked to you,” Rey said. “I'm dying to get back to it, but I just haven't had the time. Been working too much.”

“And thank fuck for that,” Poe said. “Half the nighttime staff quit now. I'm pretty much down to just Rey and Rose for servers.”

“What the hell is going on with that?” Ben asked. “People generally love working here.”

“I have no idea,” Poe said. “It's frustrating as fuck though.”

“I imagine so,” Ben said, turning back to Rey. “I'm sure you'll get back to the book soon. But that's the beauty of books. They wait for you, not the other way around. Well, unless you're waiting for the next book in a series, but with classic literature, you don't have to worry about that.”

Rey just nodded, and Rose rolled her eyes but changed the subject. “I heard Luke's got an exhibition in New York lined up.”

“Yeah, he's excited about it,” Ben said, smiling. “The collection isn't entirely done yet but it will be by the time of the show in six weeks. He's driving them to New York himself once it's done. He doesn't trust shipping them there.”

“I don't blame him for that,” Finn said. “Those are his livelihood.”

“What does he have an exhibition of?” Rey asked. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, my uncle's a painter,” Ben said, and Rey's eyes lit up.

“Are you talking about Luke Skywalker?” When Ben nodded, Rey grinned. “He's an amazing artist. I didn't know he was your uncle.”

“That's him,” Ben said, smiling back at her. “I suppose you would have heard of him with your degree.”

“I heard of him long before the degree,” Rey said, and then Poe coughed.

“Rose, Finn, how about you help me with something in the back?” he asked, standing up.

“Sure,” Rose said, and both her and Finn stood up. 

“We'll be back,” Finn said as they all walked away.

Ben sighed as Rey shook her head, and then they looked at each other and laughed. “I think they did that on purpose,” Rey said.

“I know they did that on purpose,” Ben responded, running his hands over his face. “I'm going to kill Poe for this.”

Rey let the smile slip from her face. “You don't want to sit here with me?”

“No, no,” Ben said, smiling at her. “I'm more than happy to sit here with you. I'm just mad at Poe for his meddling, that's all.”

Rey sat there as that sentence sank into her brain, and then the smile was back on her face. “Meddling, hm?”

Ben took a deep breath before nodding. “I can't help myself from thinking how beautiful you are and he knows that, and since he has made it his mission in life to find me a date, he's trying to push us into going on one.”

Rey swallowed hard as she felt her cheeks warm. “You think I'm beautiful?”

“Incredibly, unbelievably beautiful,” Ben said softly. “And I think you don't realize how beautiful you are either.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Rey breathed out. “And I don't think I'm beautiful at all.”

“You are, Rey. You really, really are.”

Rey turned her attention back to her plate before she could make an idiot out of herself. “How are your classes going?”

“My students continue to prove to me that they never should have signed up for my class,” Ben said, sighing. “I have more productive conversations with you about literature than my students are able to actually understand what I'm teaching them. It's really got me rather worried that I'm not doing my job properly, to be honest.”

“I'm sure you're doing your job just fine,” Rey said. “I can't imagine you not. You've been a professor for a while now. Ten years or so, right?”

Ben gave Rey a confused look. “How do you know how long I've been a professor for?”

Rey felt her cheeks warm again. “My grandfather.”

“Your grandfather?”

Rey nodded. “He's the chancellor of the university.”

Ben sat there in shock. “Chancellor Palpatine is your grandfather?”

“Unfortunately,” Rey said, letting out a small laugh. “Do you get along with him well?”

“I don't usually deal with him,” Ben said. “That's more for the head of the English department to do. But the few times that I have met with him has given me the distinct impression that he's a dick. Everything you've told me about him has just confirmed that for me.”

“Yeah, that's one way to describe him alright,” Rey said, shaking her head. “He and I do not get along well at all. I remind him too much of my mother, and he blames her for him losing his son, and it just all goes downhill from there.”

“I don't know what that is supposed to mean.”

Rey closed her eyes when she realized what she'd said. “Just ignore that, please.”

Ben realized that had something to do with Rey not wanting to talk about how she'd moved there and nodded. “I'll pretend you never said it then.”

Rey looked over at him with a grateful smile. “Thank you. It's just really hard for me to talk about.”

“I'll never make you talk about it,” Ben said seriously. “But if you ever want to tell me, I'll listen.”

“Thanks, Ben,” Rey said, and they stared at each other for a few moments before Ben abruptly looked away.

“I should probably get going. I have an early class tomorrow,” he said, standing up. “But it was nice to see you. I'll probably see you tomorrow night if you're working.”

“I'm working every night for the foreseeable future since everyone else quit, so I'll be here,” Rey said, smiling at him. “It was nice to see you too.”

“Then I'll see you tomorrow,” Ben said. “Goodnight.”

Ben walked out of the café a moment later, and once the door was shut, Poe, Rose, and Finn came back out of the kitchen. “So?” Poe asked. “What happened?”

“What happened is that you all are jerks for doing that to us,” Rey said seriously. “And all we did was talk.”

Rose sighed. “So he didn't ask you out?”

“Of course not,” Rey said. “He's not interested in me.”

Poe groaned as he sat back down. “Ben is being an idiot and I'm going to make that very clear to him the next time I see him.”

“He's not being an idiot,” Rey said, shaking her head. “He's just not interested.”

“Trust me, he's being an idiot,” Poe said as Rose and Finn sat down. “But since Ben's gone now, I think we need to use this time as a little employee meeting because until I get more waitstaff hired, you three are going to be very important to me. More important than you already are, I mean. You're already very important to me.”

Rey put a smile on her face and shoved all thoughts of Ben to the back of her mind. “I'm ready to listen, boss.”


End file.
